Brand's solicitor John Kelly told Mr Justice Tugendhat the newspaper's claims were entirely without foundation and "distressing, hurtful and damaging".

He said the star immediately wrote to the newspaper after the publication of its front page "exclusive" - headlined "Russell Cheated On His Jemima With Me" - informing them the claims were false.

"The claimant's distress was increased as a result of the defendant's initial refusal to remove the article from the newspaper's website, or to withdraw the allegations and publish an apology", Mr Kelly said.